By Charles Bolinger
Editor • In a 3-2 vote with two abstentions and an absence, Troy’s Planning Commission denied a resident’s special-use permit for a community solar project at a public hearing on Aug. 13.
Commissioners Rich Curtis, Shane McBride and Eric Patton voted ‘no’ because they felt they had not had enough time to read through and research the project. Two other commissioners, Rachel Lybarger and Matt Reiter, abstained due to conflicts of interest. Commissioner Mike Nierman was absent.
Kent Higgins, who lives on Formosa Road, just south of the US 40 interchange with I-55/70, also attended the meeting. Higgins, on behalf of H3 Farm Enterprise, requested the special-use permit to allow for construction and operation of a five-megawatt (5 MW) solar energy farm on 15.58 acres of property he said he paid to have rezoned as light industrial on the west side of Formosa. The photovoltaic panels would be mounted on fixed-tilt racks. 
The zoning is also what the city hoped for in its comprehensive plan and zoning maps for this site. As this project would fall into one of the city’s light industrial zones, it is subject to Troy’s new rule that such concepts in the city’s light industrial zoning areas receive three opportunities for residents to speak in favor or against before city council members vote. The Aug. 13 meeting was the first such chance; the second one was Aug. 17 and the last one will be at the end of the month. 
Also on hand were applicants Tess Buchanan, a project manager with Cultivate Power out of Chicago and Sean Pluta, an attorney with the Polsinelli Law Firm in St. Louis. They spoke on behalf of Ironbark Solar, LLC, a Cultivate Power subsidiary.
Buchanan’s presentation defined community solar and highlighted the benefits. Community solar projects connect to the local distribution grid and provide power within Ameren’s service territory, she said. At present, electric cooperatives like Southwestern Electric are not part of this effort but discussions about adding cooperatives are ongoing, she added.
Buchanan said community solar allows the benefits of solar energy to those who can’t install solar arrays on their roofs or on their properties. Customers can subscribe to a portion of community solar projects and, in turn, receive a credit on their bills. There’s no subscription fee, no activation fee and no termination fee.
Higgins’ project would be a shared solar array, not an industrial one. City Engineer Tom Cissell said he took photos in both directions along US 40 to illustrate that the tree line that divides the highway and outer road from the site would obscure the solar array from drivers. However, anyone driving past on Formosa Road would see the project.
Cultivate Power eyed this site because of several features — its available capacity on 34.5 kilovolts (kV) power lines allowing output to Ameren’s grid; proximity to relevant electrical and road infrastructure; landowner interest; site topography; compatibility with land use and surrounding uses; and compliance with zoning and other local ordinances.
If approved, Buchanan said the power output would be about nine million kilowatt hours (kWh) a year, or enough to power between 900 and 1,000 single-family homes. 
The site would have local, pollinator-friendly grasses and plants along the eastern, southern and western borders to prevent erosion, runoff and to strengthen root structure within the soil. Almost no concrete pads would be used. The entire site would be demarcated by a seven-foot-high fence and there would be a lone entrance/exit from Formosa Road. A section in the southeast corner of the site was excluded because that land is within Southwestern Electric’s territory.
The project’s setbacks would be 50 feet from the property line and 150 feet from residential walls. The targeted site is greater than 800 feet from the nearest non-participating residence and more than 1,300 feet (almost a quarter of a mile) from the inverters to the nearest non-participating residence. 
An important point to remember is that since 2023, Illinois law on solar projects trumps any local ordinance or resolution. The planning commission could not deny the entire project on a whim or it would risk leaving the city open to litigation from the H3 Farms and/or Cultivate. 
Illinois Senate Bill 25 relates to solar arrays and allows amendments to address setbacks, vegetative screening, construction timetables, building permits, fees and zoning assessments for commercial wind and solar facilities.
If the city council gives its blessing to this project, it will take 16 to 24 weeks to build, with construction commencing next autumn. 
Per Illinois law, solar arrays or farms are taxed according to their MW size. The land, Buchanan said, is taxed at 6.9189% and currently generates almost $2,156 per year in taxes. Within the first year after the solar farm goes online, the taxes would be $31,614, or about 14 times more. 
The project’s lifespan is 40 years and over the next four decades, there would be benefits to the site’s various taxing bodies. The Triad School District, the biggest benefactor, would receive $707,632 between 2027 and 2067 from this project. The entire 40-year tax amount total would be $1,054,374.
Going from the tree line that marks the northern part of Higgins’ land to the south, there is a triangle of land he received previous city approval to partially convert into a self-storage facility, followed by the proposed solar farm. Cultivate is prepared to sign a community benefit agreement with Troy to improve a stretch of Formosa Road south from Troy Road or Commercial Drive south to a point at or past the solar farm to a planned subdivision of single-family homes coming from Osborn Development called Carrington Farms. 
Buchanan said she has talked to Troy Fire Protection District Chief to discuss the national fire safety codes that the project would comply with. He had no objections. She said she mailed 10 surrounding neighbors; she spoke to and emailed Landon Sarver with the Collinsville-Troy Church of Christ, the neighbor north of the tree line; phone calls with Cade Osborn; and emails with Dianna Tickner, who owns land to the southwest and who also had no objections. 
Two points to remember—one is that the planning commission is composed of volunteers, not Troy staff members or elected officials. Second, they are a recommending body and their decisions are not binding. The city council could reverse their decision or affirm it. 
The proposal went before the Troy City Council for first reading on Aug. 17 and it will return to the city council at a special meeting on Aug. 31 for second reading and action on the matter.
The Aug. 31 meeting will be at 4:30 p.m. in Troy City Hall, 116 E. Market St. 
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